ICCA state championships are Saturday
One week after the IHSA conducted its state finals in competitive cheerleading, another group of qualifiers heads to Springfield on Friday for the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association championships.
The competition opens at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. Teams will take the floor continuously through 6:30 p.m.
Known widely throughout cheerleading circles, the ICCA has been around for more than 25 years, and it continues to draw teams for its emphasis on the development of its coaches and its student athletes.
For area schools, the annual competition also offers a rare commodity: a championship division for junior varsity and a junior high teams, both taking place on Sunday.
Between all three divisions, nearly 170 teams will descend on the Springfield area, or more than 2,000 cheerleaders and their fans.
For varsity teams, the action unfolds on Saturday, in a one-time only shot. There are no preliminary rounds. Teams have just over three minutes to make their case for a state championship.
Area varsity teams advancing include: Glenbard South of Glen Ellyn; Timothy Christian in Elmhurst; Lisle, Wheaton Warrenville South; St. Viator in Arlington Heights, Batavia; Addison Trail, Maine West in Des Plaines; Benet Academy in Lisle; Glenbard North in Carol Stream and Downers Grove North.
The Batavia cheerleaders, left for Springfield only after they finished cheering on the Bulldogs at Friday night's game against Geneva. As they left, the Batavia police and firefighters helped send them off with an official escort out of the village.
Cheerleaders from Addison Trail High School placed fifth last year among large schools. They return this year, though they have had to fight through injuries and illness, Coach Christina Mayton said - consequently they've had to adapt their routine a bit.
"That's what I believe is their greatest strength," Mayton says, "their ability to be flexible and stick together as a team when things are not perfect. This has made them stronger."
Another team looking to move up is the squad from St. Viator. The Lions placed seventh among large schools last year and are coming off a finish of 10th in state at the IHSA competition last weekend.
"Our tumbling has improved a lot this year; it has been our highest scoring category," says Coach Chrissie Palumbo. "But our biggest strength has been being able to hit the routine. That gives the girls tremendous confidence."
St. Viator is one of only a handful of schools that will be competing in both the IHSA and ICCA state series. Athletic Director Tim Carlson says the ICCA offers an exciting culmination for their program - for both the varsity and junior varsity.
In fact, the varsity will remain in Springfield after competing on Saturday to cheer on the junior varsity when they take the floor on Sunday.
"It's just good for the program, to be able to send both," Carlson says. "It gives them a further opportunity to continue competing."
This will be the first time in two years Maine West cheerleaders will competing at a state championship. A rash of injuries and a change in coaching prevented them from qualifying last year, but they left Friday with high hopes.
"We placed third at our qualifier, so we've been tweaked the program and made some changes and now it looks a lot cleaner and stronger," said Coach Megan Welsh.